James w



(No Model.)

: J. W. KREPPS'.

v 1 CAR DOOR LOOK.- No. 258,080. Patented May 16, 1 882.

7 W I [m I 1 wnrussfis: INVBNTOR 4 y W' I ATTORNEY i f UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

JAMES W. KREPPS, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.-

cAR-oooa LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 258,080, dated May 16, 1882. Application filed March 25,1862. '(m model.)

To all whom t't'may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. KREPPS, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gar-Door Fasteners. of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to the kind of cardoor fasteners consisting of a pair of bookcatches in the door-frame, which are opened self-actingly to receive the bolt on the sliding door by the beveled point of the bolt and struction of the fastener.

5o jamb and fitting the bolt or pin therein.

closed into notches in the sides of the head of the bolt to secure the same by the gravitation of one of the catches, and of a bar. employed for opening the catchesand also for fastening them, the' said invention consisting of an improved construction of such car-door fasteners, whereby less care and skill are required in the application of the fasteners to the cars in the first place, the operation is more certain, and the fasteners more permanent and durable than as heretofore made, all as hereinafter more fully described, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved car-door fastener, together with 'the wood pieces to which it is attached for application to the car. Fig.2 is a section of Fig. 1011 line mm. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the base plate employed by me in the improved con- Fig. 4 is an elevation of the bottom of said base-plate. Fig. 5

is a plan of the bottom plate of one of the attaching-pieces represented in Fig. 1.

A represents a cleat or batten of wood to b attached to the side of the car for connecting the parts of the fastener that are mounted on it to the door-jamb.

B represents another cleat or batten of wood, to be attached to the side of the door for connecting the parts of the fastener mounted on it to the door, the said part of the fastener being the pointed and double-notched bolt D.

The parts of the fastener attached to the door-jamb by cleat A, as the lock has been heretofore arranged, consist of the catches E F and the bar G, together with a pivot bolt or pin, heretofore inserted under catch E at H by boring a hole through cleat A and the door- The object of the said pin or bolt is to afford piv- I otal support to catch E, allowing it to fall when the weight of catch F and barhG are lifted off from it at I to permit the bolt to be withdrawnfor opening the door, and on which.

it will swing up and engage the notches of the bolt to fasten the door, when catch F and bar G are let fall upon itagain at I.

This fastening device has an especial merit over others in its extreme simplicity, in consequence of whiclrit is highly esteemed as a car-door fastener; but it will readily be seen that its successful operation is whollydependent upon the location of pivot H in the exact position relatively to bolt D to cause catch E to bear properly in the underside of the notches of bolt D when catch E restsin the notches of the upper side of the bolt. For instance, if pivot H be a little too low, catch E will not rise up to the notches of the bolt when catch on center H .the books a of said catch will 'move away from the hooks of'the bolt D by the slightest fall of the notched end, so that only the upper catch will have any hold in the notches of the bolt. If, on the other hand, the pivot H be a little too high, the rear end of catch E, where catch F rests on it at l by its vertical extension K, will be prevented from descending to the proper level, so that catch F will not drop into notches of bolt D, and hooks to will swing forward so as'to prevent them fromentering the notches of the bolt, or to cause undue strain on bar G if they should. enter. Now, it will be seen that, as the bolt D is attached to the cleat B and the rest of the fastener to cleat A, it requires the greatest care to adjust the two parts exactly right; but that is not the worst, for with proper care it can be done, although it is highly desirable to contrive for the most ready application of the locks by unskilled hands. The main difficulty has been caused by the unsubstantial support of this pivot-bolt fitted in the wood of the cleat A and the car, besides the difliculty of adjusting it in case the hole is notbored just right in the first place, or of the settling or crowding of the bolt out of place after being put in, or of becoming slack by shrinkage of the wood.

To remedy all these difficulties I have contrived the pivot H, in connection with a base- 7 H F rests on the bolt, and as said catch E swings plate, L, to be fitted on the shoulder M of the recess N, cut in the side of the cleat A, to provide the required space for the catches, the said base-plate being, for the purpose of greater stability, made part of a box or case, of which 0 is the back plate, P side, and Q, top, fitting the bottom and sides of the recess so as to set in and be retained without any fastening other than being confined between the cleat and the side of the car when the cleat is attached. This plateL will afford the most substantial support to the pivot, and, being set in the recess along with the case as. part of the fastener, saves the boring and fitting ot' the pivot. It also avoids exposure to the outside of any part for a clew to burglars. The base-plate L is constructed with a depression,

O, between thevpivot H and the end of said plate that fronts the door, to allow the head of catch E space in which to drop. By means of any known point or gage-mark on the front of this base-plate, against which the door closes, the bolt D may be attached to the door after the catches have been attached to the car with certainty of proper adjustment with relation to the pivot. The face-plate Z, inclosing the cavity N on the edge of cleat A, may be part of the case, if desired; but I prefer to apply it separately. I also propose to arrange the surface of plate L behind bar G, at It, level with the surface of pivot H, so that part of the service of supporting the weight of catch F and bar G will be sustained by it, affording greater steadiness, especially to prevent shaking and rattling when the car is running. In

.order to allow the bar G to work up and down in this base-plate, it is provided with a notch, S, and when the case has a top, Q,.it will also have a notch, T.

For attaching the hasp of a padlock to the lower end of the bar G for locking the doorfastening, I attach a staple, V, to the bar below the plate W, attached to the lower end of cleat G, through which plate the bar works in a slot, X, with which I also make a slot, Y, for the staple. The bar G will also have a hole between the staple and the plate W, and close to the latter, to insert a seal, if desired.

I am aware of improvements in latches described and shown in the patent granted to G. W. Preston, July 19, 1881, No. 244,665, and I do not claim said improvements.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a door-fastener consisting of gravitycatches E F, bar G, and the notched bolt D, the pivot H for the catch E, formed on a baseplate, L, located in the recess N made in the wood for the said fastener, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with catches E F, bar G, and notched bolt D, of the pivot H and the rest It for catch E on base-plate L, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the bar G, catches E F, and bolt D, of the staple V and plate W, the said plate being attached to the end of cleat A and provided with slots X and Y, and the staple being attached to bar G and in the described relation to plate W substantially as described.

JAMES W. KR EPPS. 

